Natalie Spooner is seen having a little fun with Team Canada during a training session at the Olympics. Photo by Jamie Squire /Getty ImagesArticle contentMILAN — Even before she stepped on the ice for her first game as a four-time Canadian Olympian, Natalie Spooner’s influence has been a force of irrepressible joy.

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She has become the TikTok star of the team — undisputed, her younger teammates say — and  an emotional leader of a Team Canada that has something to prove for the first time in an Olympic tournament.

Article contentWhen she learned she had been named to the Milan-Cortina team as the so-called 13th forward, there was another video highlight. The tear-filled reaction to the call from GM Gina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan poignantly captured the emotion of the veteran forward’s excruciating journey of recovery to get here.

Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article contentBut despite those who doubted the 35-year-old’s selection — when perhaps a younger up-and-coming player could have been seen as a wiser fit — Spooner was relentless.

“It’s been a long road to get here and it has been a grind,” Spooner said of the emotion she released on that video. “There’s been good days and bad days. So it was just thinking about all those tough days, and that it was worth it in the end. The dream that I had built up in my head, like I can do this. It it came true.”

To refresh what has happened in Spooner’s life since a gold medal was hung around her neck four years ago in Beijing is to capture the magnitude of her inspirational story.

It started when she gave birth to her son Rory late in 2022 — the same year of that Olympic triumph — and experienced the joy of motherhood.

After reviving her playing career with the Toronto Sceptres of the PWHL, Spooner tore a ligament in her knee in a playoff game in May 2024.

It could have been a career-ender for what had already been an accomplished player, but those who know Spooner best, say her wiring wouldn’t allow it.

“Obviously, to have a baby and come back at a world level is really impressive,” said Ryan, whose trust in Spooner has grown as her coach with the Sceptres. “Then also to have the knee injury … I get the luxury of seeing it every day, the work she has put in with our medical team, the work she has put in with strength and conditioning coaches, the hard skates to get her back at this level.

“You guys see the bubbly side, the attitude, the positivity that she brings. I think (if she didn’t have that) it would be very tough for her to get back to the point she’s at now.”

That zeal rings true with her teammates.

If you’ve seen the TikTok dance video she essentially produced and orchestrated prior to practice here recently, you get a window into that influence.

https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliespooner24/video/7603034763993042197

“She’s been a great teammate and her leadership shows in that way,” said goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens. “Sometimes people might get a little stressed at the Olympics, but she’s a good reminder that hard work can still be fun. The younger players are looking up to her in that way.”

When it comes time to get down to business on the ice though, Spooner is a beast. Scoring her team’s first goal of the Olympics on Saturday night at Rho Arena showed the effect she can still have on a game and was a perhaps appropriate way to get Canada started. There is a realization within the team that they’re going to have to rely on savvy and toughness as much as speed and strength to repeat as gold medallists.

“We know she can be on any power-play unit in the world, a real net-front player like that,” Ryan said. “It gives us depth when you can pull our 13th forward to be on the first unit.

“The cool part of her game is that it has evolved. She used to lug the puck through the neutral zone and now she just wants to set up like a big centre in basketball. Any smart player moving on in her career, they’ve got to find other ways to impact the game and (Spooner) has done that.”

Natalie Spooner takes a team selfie during a training session. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty ImagesArticle contentFor Spooner, the trust is a motivating tool she’s channelled alongside the energy she has expended throughout her career.

“For me, (Ryan’s faith), just gives me the confidence that no matter where I am, I can have an impact and make sure I’m helping my team win,” Spooner said. “Coming into the tournament, I was willing to take on any role and have an impact wherever I was.”

The road to get here hasn’t been easy, but Spooner never wavered in pursuit of a shot at another Olympic prize.

“There was definitely days where I doubted,” she said. “Obviously, there’s days when you’re in pain and you’re working hard to come back and you think, ‘Wow, can I really do this? Can I get back to where I was? Is it going to be good enough?

“My husband gives me a lot of times and he just told me to make the best of whatever time I’m given. It’s just embracing that and making sure whenever I get the chances, I’m making the best of it.”

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